How To Get The Girl
by Ziver69
Summary: There is a lot to be said for friendship, but when what you feel is more than friendship, it's time to take the leap. Inspired by a random lunch break conversation, Grissom begins preparations on a first date with Sara. Sneak along for their first date. GSR
1. Chapter 1

**How To Get The Girl**

This will be a relatively short one, probably two chapters in total. There's no real time frame involved, except that it's taken place after Nick's kidnapping and the team is back together. Hope those that read will enjoy and it wouldn't be terrible if you left a review, lol.

 **~~HTGTG~~**

"So you're saying women _like_ being scared?"

They were smack dab in the middle of another lunch break verbal free for all and Grissom wasn't sure whether to be amused, worry about the maturity of his team or make a personal vow to eat his lunch in his office from now on.

"No, not like honestly and legitimately scared." He was a great investigator, but Sara didn't know how far to trust Nick's 'understanding' of the opposite sex, particularly given the confused expression on his face at the moment. Really, she didn't think the concept was that complicated.

"Dude," Greg jumped in, "She's not saying give your lady a heart attack, but just a little-" He suddenly leaped from his chair, roaring at Sara. She jumped and then smacked him.

" _Not_ like that." Sara glared at Greg.

That did make Grissom smirk.

"No woman wants dumb stunts." She finished.

"Aww, come on, Sar. Some women might find that endearing." Greg nearly simpered.

"Maybe...from the right guy." Sara replied, her tone clearly saying that Greg was not the right guy for her. Of course, she kept just enough tease in her tone to make sure he knew she didn't intend for it to hurt him at all. She loved the guy but like a little brother.

"Oh!" Nick and Warrick said together.

"Burn Greggo!" Nick turned back to Sara. "Alright, so what then, Sar?" Nick asked.

"Just be creative. Like, take her on a haunted hayride or for a moonlight boat ride and tell her a spooky story about some girl who drowned in the lake because she was heartbroken and now she goes after couples who come out under a full moon. A little spine tingle gets the adrenaline pumping and she'll be cuddled up and you get to play the big, protective man. Are you picking up what I'm putting down, Stokes?" He still looked a little skeptical.

"Girl! I never took you for the 'I want a man to protect me for the boogeyman' type." Warrick declared, taking a bite of his sandwich and grinning at her.

"Well, I'm not the simpering type...exactly, but there are aspects of being a girl that I enjoy. Besides, any guy who would take the time to be that creative for a date...is definately getting a second one. Unless he screws it up by being a jerk."

"Okay." Nick was mulling it over. "It's not a bad idea."

Sara rolled her eyes and Warrick laughed.

Everyone's attention was drawn to the end of the table at the scrapping sound that penetrated the air.

"You alright, Gris?" Warrick asked as their supervisor made for the door.

"Yes. Just time for me to get back to work. Enjoy the rest of your lunch." He called back over his shoulder as he exited the room.

Grissom headed straight for his office and did something that he wasn't typically known for; he flew through the stack of paperwork on his desk. Something had clicked inside him and for once, instead of beating the flames back, he was going to fan them for all he was worth.

What would normally take him at least a shift to complete because of the dread it induced in him. Yes, he did think that with enough research he could prove an allergic reaction to paperwork, only took him three hours to complete that night. That left him with two hours to burn before the end of shift. That produced a second occurence of something Gil Grissom wasn't known for; he clocked out early and took some personal time, though he didn't leave the building. Instead, he picked up the phone and dialed the extension he needed. When it was answered he asked, "What would an hour of your time after shift cost me?" He smiled at the reply, more than satisfied with the answer. "Consider it done. Meet me at my office when you've clocked out. And this is personal, so please, keep your plans to yourself. Thanks." He hung up and typed in his first query into the search engine.

He'd lost track of the time and was startled when she spoke quietly from the doorway. "I didn't think you had any open cases."

"Sara." He slipped his glasses from their perch on his nose and discreetly minimized the page he'd been engrossed in. "I don't at the moment. I've actually clocked out. I'm on personal time." His eyes twinkled and he had absolutely no idea how disarming that grin was to her as he watched her eyes widen in disbelief.

"You? Taking personal time?" She questioned, a small smile brightening her face. "Is the sky falling?" She teased, once more reminded of how happy she was that things between them were eaygoing again. It had been tense between them for too long, but after what happened to Nick, he'd reached out and they'd begun to mend their strained friendship. So, it wasn't the relationship she'd hoped for but she'd come to realize that if she had to pick between only having a platonic relationship with him or no relationship at all, she picked platonic every time. And he had been working so hard at being a good friend to her. She would venture to say that their current friendship was stronger and better than it had ever been.

"Yes, Miss Smartmouth." He smirked, " _You_ should try it sometime."

She chose to ignore his sarcastic retort because she knew it was said in jest. "So why are you still here then?"

"Currently I'm doing some research on something I'm interested in exploring further."

"Really." Her curiosity was piqued. "What's that?"

"Just something I've been fascinated by for years now and I've decided it's time I stopped wanting and go for it. I'm tired of my self induced relegation to the sidelines, so I'm taking steps to make a formal committment to stop sitting on the sidelines and be active with it."

"Oh, come on, Griss. That doesn't tell me aything. What is it?" She pleaded; his vague description was enough to tease but not to satisfy.

"I'm not ready to make it public yet. There are some things I still need to put into place. But," he hurried forward, seeing she was about to start grilling him for better details. He really loved her passion and tenacity, among countless other things. He thanked God above for it actually, because without it he would have missed this chance. Without it, she may have told him to get lost long ago. "I promise I will tell you when it's time."

She frowned, but agreed. "Fair enough. On another note then, I'm thinking of stopping at that bagel place on my way home."

"Sara." He laughed. "That place is five miles outside of _on your way home_."

"Semantics." She countered playfully. "Wanna join me? My treat."

"That sounds lovely, but I'm going to take a rain check for today."

"Hmm." She pouted. "I thought you were clocked out."

"I am, but as I said, I have some things to get done for my endeavor."

"There's a deadline?"

"Self-imposed." He offered. "It's long overdue and I don't want to wait any longer than necessary." _I love you and I'm tired of pretending not to be,_ he thought.

"Okay, well, another day then."

"Count on it." He told her, smiling as she waved and he watched her walk away.

Mere seconds after Sara disappeared around the corner, Archie slipped into his office. He closed the door behind him and rubbed his hands together in delight. "What's my mission, boss?"

Gil grinned and motioned Archie around his desk. "It's a tall order, Archie, but you're just the man for the job."

 **~~HTGTG~~**

Linda Stevens watched with a smile on her face as Gil Grissom climbed from behind the wheel of his Denali.

"Madam Mayor." He greeted.

"Gil Grissom, it's about time you darkened my doorstep again. Have you come to collect on my offer?" He'd been vague when he'd called to ask if he could speak with her today, but she hoped he was indeed there for what she thought he might be.

"You did say to come to you when I decided to address, how did you say it...'that chemistry situation on my team'?"

Her eyes lit up as she clasped her hands together by her mouth. "I take it you're here then because you are finally ready to address the situation _properly_?"

He gave her the honest, humble answer she deserved. "I love her, Linda, and it is passed time I did something about it. I know what lab policy is but I just got my team back. I don't want it split back up. I need your help in working this out, if the offer still stands. I know what has to be done, but the Sheriff isn't going to like it and I don't want him or Ecklie making this hard on Sara. I'll step down before I let-"

She hushed him. No one will be stepping down, least of all our leading and only entomologist and the man who helped make our lab second in the nation. And let's not forget who brings in all that grant money. No, you let me take care of the Sheriff. But you know you're going to have to find someone else to be Sara's immediate supervisor and do her performance evaluation. You have to be hands off with that. That can't be compromised on, Gil."

"Done." He agreed readily.

"I'm serious, Gil. You can't be Sara's significant other and her supervisor. It compromises the lab's-"

"Linda, I know. Believe me, I understand and I do not have a problem with that. I never wanted to be her supervisor in the first place and if I have to give that up to to be her partner in life then it's not even a question of debate...not anymore." He blushed a little when it occured to him how he must have sounded just now if the look on Linda's face was anything to go by. He cleared his throat and continued. "Catherine is more than capable of taking on that supervisory role for Sara and I don't think she'll have a problem with it."

"Will Sara?"

"She may not love the idea initially, but if it means the two of us being together and that's still what she wants for us then Sara will make it work. I know she will."

"Should you ask Catherine before I inform the Sheriff that he _will_ be giving you and Sara his full support?"

"I don't think it's necessary, but I will if you'd prefer it. I'm confidant Catherine will be willing."

"Well, I would feel better if you had that confirmed before I call the Sheriff. If for some reason Catherine isn't willing, I don't want egg on my face if I can avoid it. You understand?"

"Of course. I have to make one quick stop and then I'll go have that talk with Catherine. Give me, two hours?"

"Done. If I don't hear from you, I'll assume all went to plan and that she is indeed on board. I'll call you when I've informed the Sheriff."

"Thank you, Linda." He stepped forward and kissed her cheek.

"It really is my pleasure, Gil. Ever since I saw the two of you together, I knew it was a good match. Glad you finally came around to it. Good luck to the both of you." She watched with a smile as he climbed back into the car. Just before he closed the door, she called out to him, unable to resist. "Oh and Gil?" He looked back. "I'll expect an invitation to your wedding." Even from the distance she saw his face redden. He gave a little wave and quickly shut the door. She giggled as he drove away.

Now all he had to do was wake the hibernating bear. Hopefully when she learned why he'd woken her early, she'd forgive him. He turned the car in the direction of his preferred florist. That was errand number one; buy Catherine a bouquet of her favorite flowers to help him avoid being devoured.

Birds of Paradise on his passenger seat and three blocks from her house, Gil pulled over to call her. Years of experience had taught him that when needing to wake Catherine up for a face to face meeting, it was best to use the 'ripping off the band aid' method- quick and without a lot of time for her to think about it.

The phone rang four times before a very sleepy sounding Catherine answered. "Willows."

"Catherine, I'm sorry to wake you, but I need to talk to you. It's important and time sensitive. I'm a few minutes and I'm bringing coffee." He managed to get that all out in one breath.

"Gil?"

"Ah, yes." He realized he had skipped the identification portion of the phone call.

"What...do we have a case?"

"No. No case."

"Gil...it's 11:08...AM! If we don't have a case then _why_ am I awake?!"

And the bear was well and truly poked.

"I know." He rushed. "I am sorry. I'll explain when I get there in about three minutes." He'd drive slowly. "And I do have coffee." he said again.

"No." She told him firmly. "No coffee. I plan to go back to sleep after. Hot chocolate."

He looked at the coffee, a bit panicked. There wasn't a coffe shop close by.

"I have it." She went on, reading into his sudden silence from years of knowing the man. "You'll make it." She informed him.

"Yes. Good. I'll make it."

"I have to pee-"

"Catherine." He whined at her overshare.

"And then," She went on, ignoring him. "I will unlock the door. And Gil?"

"Yes?"

"Don't take three minutes because I know you're closer than that. I want to be back in bed before noon."

He didn't even have time to answer her before he heard the dialtone. He looked quickly in his mirrors to check for traffic before pulling back out onto the road. He was parked in Catherine's driveway a minute and two seconds later. Just as he reached the front door, his ears picked up the distinct sound of tumblers rolling as she unlocked the door. He opened it, plastered on his most charming smile and thrust the bouquet of her favorite flowers toward her...or at least wjat would have been her if she'd been standing where he thought she'd be. Instead, he looked over the top of the brightly colored flowers and saw her shuffling toward the kitchen.

"Cocoa's in the cupboard above the microwave. I like it with warm milk. You know where the mugs are." She never even bothered to turn around.

Grissom shut the door and hurried after her. She meant the noon thing. By the time he got to the kitchen, she was perched on a stool at the breakfast bar with her head resting on her folded arms and her eyes were closed.

He smiled, despite the very real risk to his health at having woken her up, but he supposed if she was going to actually hurt him, she would have done so by now so he relaxed a bit. He laid the flowers down close to her, knowing she would recognize the scent quickly enough and went about gathering what he needed for the cocoa.

Sure enough, less than half a minute later, her head came up and a slow, if somewhat reluctant smile graced her lips. "They're beautiful. Thank you."

He nodded with a smile. "Vase?"

"Under the sink, but over one to your right."

He pulled one out and filled it halfway with water. She shooed him off with a grin when he made to put them in the vase for her. "You. Cocoa." She instructed as she began arranging the flowers in the crystal.

After a short bout of silence, Catherine watched him watch the milk slowly warm. He looked rather relaxed and it piqued her interest. "So, are you going to tell me why I'm not sleeping right now, Gil, or did you just have the overwhelming urge to bring me flowers?"

He scrunched his nose at her and lifted the pan of milk from the burner, carefully pouring it over the powder. He gave it a sufficient stirring; enough to blend it together and cool it just enough for consumption, and then set it in front of her. Then he reached around the bar and pulled the empty stool beside her over to his side so he could sit opposite her.

"I need you to supervise Sara from here on out. Well, starting this coming Thursday to be exact." He ducked his eyes for a second before looking back at her. "Email her the switch, but wait until shift starts though. She'll be off that night so she'll officially be informed, but she shouldn't see it until later."

"Oh, Gil, what now?" Catherine groaned.

"I'm sorry?" He was confused by her reaction.

"Is Sara being disciplined again, because if so, it's really not fair for you to push her off on me especially since we've patched things up." Another possibility, no more appealing crossed her mind as a possible explanantion for her sudden added responsibility. "Is the team being split again because-"

Gil stopped her. "No, Catherine, it's nothing like that." He smiled shyly. He wasn't doing a very good job of explaining this himself. Sharing his personal business was never easy for him "This is a request born of a personal need." He drew in a fortifying breath and proceeded. "As you're aware, lab policy frowns upon colleagues on the same shift engaging in a romantic relationship but doesn't forbide it if it's handled properly. However, romance between a supervisor and subordinate on the same shift is forbidden." He watched Catherine's eyes slowly alight with understanding. "I don't want to be Sara's supervisor anymore. Would you please do this for me, Catherine?"

Tears gathered in her eyes as she nodded her head 'yes' and reached across the counter to put her hand over his. "I'd love to do this for you, Gil...for both of you."

"Thank you." He smiled back and patted her hand. Everything was coming together.

 **~~HTGTG~~**

Tuesday evening, the following week...

The two men rolled out from under Grissom's Denali. All the equipment was in place. "Okay, Grissom." Archie slapped his hands together. "Start her up and let's have a run through."

He did and then he and Archie watched the gaiges flicker and listened to the engine sputter as it faltered and then died. The men looked at each other and grinned.

"Get in so we can hear from the inside for this one. I need to make sure I have the volume right."

Grissom nodded and climbed in behind the wheel while Archie jogged around to the passenger side. With the doors closed, Archie tapped some more keys and they listened.

"A bit too close." Grissom assessed. "Like I should be looking right outside the truck."

Archie nodded in agreement and made some adjustments. "Okay." He said tapping another key. "Let's try this ."

Grissom smiled. "Close enough but not too close. I'd say that's perfect right there, Archie."

"Gave me the chills." The AV man chuckled. He closed the laptop. "Okay, I think we're all set. Oh, wait." He opened the laptop back up. "Do you have the burn phone on you?"

"I have it, but I haven't even taken it out of the box yet."

"Well, let's turn it on and get your phone set up so we know if this works like it should. The last thing you want is to get out there and have a signal."

"Right." Grissom reached into the glove box and pulled the burn phone he'd purchased out. He went to hand it to Archie, but the younger man waved him off.

"Give me your company phone and I'll get the chip in it and you turn the backup on." So they did. Archie got out and walked the distance of the garage. I'll call you and you make sure nothing happens."

"Well, I've got no signal so that's a good start." Grissom called back. He watched Archie dial and then put the phone to his ear. Nothing happend. "We're good." He called to the younger man.

"Great." Archie relied when he reached the Denali again. "Let me know when you leave in the morning and I'll turn everything on and we'll do a moving run when you get to your neighborhood. With this GPS I should be able to cut you off as you pull into your driveway."

"I'll let you know when I leave." He extended his hand to Archie, shaking it when the gesture was returned. "I can't tell you how much I appreciate this. I'll drop those tickets off to you tomorrow night and that symposium reccomendation will be on your desk by end of shift."

"Sounds great. And I'm glad to do it. Sara's a great girl. She deserves to be happy. Nice to see you finally got it together, Grissom." He grinned at the man whose eyes were now quite wide. Archie had to laugh. "Come on, man, everybody could see it. Better late than never, huh." He slapped Grissom, who still looked flabbergasted, on the back. "Well, I'm going to head over to me casa away from me casa and catch a nap before shift starts."

"Yeah...sure." Grissom managed. "Thanks again." he stammered. He really had been quite transparent it seemed. "Okay." He said to himself. "One more person to bring on board...other than Sara." He chuckled lightly. He climbed back into the Denali and backed out of the old bay that they'd used to avoid detection and unwarranted questions.

Once back in the lab, Grissom made his way to his office and set to work on that letter for symposium for Archie. He finished it up and went over it for proofreading just half an hour before the start of shift. Satisfied with it, he signed and put it in an envelope to deliver to Archie on his way to get assignment slips from Judy.

"And finally last but not least, Nicky my boy, you have a smash and grab at the Tropicana. That's it everyone. Be safe out there." He handed Nick his slip and turned toward his partner for the night. "Ric, I'll get my kit and meet you at the truck."

"You got it, Griss."

"Hey!" Sara caught him on his way out the door.

"Hey." The skin around his eyes crinkled as he smiled at her. His smile turned questioning as she put a small, white bag in his hands. "What's this?"

"That bagel shop on my way home," she teased. "It was calling my name, so I grabbed an onion bagel with cream cheese for you while I was there. I had tem double wrap it so it should still be warm for you."

"I'll let Warrick drive." The urge to lean in and kiss her was so powerful, it was hard to ignore. He looked forward to a time in the very near future when he might thank her with more than mere words for these little gestures and for those moments of 'just because'. For now, "Thank you, Sara." He told her with a wink and a grin.

"Have fun tonight." She smiled back.

Warrick turned right. "Man, I'm gonna start bringing you breakfast if it means I get to drive when we work together." he joked as Grissom took another bit of his bagel.

A perfect segway. "Do you have plans for your day of on Thursday?" He asked after he swallowed.

"Oh yeah. Big plans."

Grissom's heart constricted. He should have asked as soon as he'd put the svhedule out. But then Warrick spoke, and hope sprang back to life.

"Huge plans to sit on my butt and play video games." He laughed. "Exciting stuff, right. You?"

"Well, that depends on you, Ric."

"Me?" Warrick glanced over quickly and then put his focus back on the road.

"Would you be willing to work my shift Thursday night and I'll take your shift on Saturday night?"

"Another Saturday night off?! Heck yeah, man! Absolutely!" Warrick crowed. "Hot date?" he teased.

"I wouldn't necessarily say 'hot'. Not for a first date. but fabulous, unforgettable and the first of many wouldn't be out of the question for possible descriptions."

Warrick did a double take. "You really have a date?!"

Although part of him was a little offended by the total shock in Warrick's voice at the news that he had a date, he laughed anyway. He supposed it was pretty surprising, especially since it took him more than thirty seconds to remember the last time he'd gone on anything that remotely resembled a date. "Yes, a surprise date actually."

"Uh, I don't mean to be all up in your business, Griss, but how do you have a surprise date? Blind, I get, but..."

"Technically, I'm getting the young lady in my company under false pretenses, but I'll reveal my intentions after the main surprise of the evening and I think she'll forgive me once I make my hopes for us clear. And I'll apologize for the ruse, of course."

It was at that moment that they arrived at their scene. Warrick parked and turned the truck off.

"I'm not advertising this until and unless we make this official and that's only if she wants it made public, but since you're helping me make it possible, I will add you to the short list of people in the know. It's Sara, Ric. I'm asking Sara to...well, be mine, I guess you'd say."

"Have you guys been dating? Wait, no, you said this was a first date. Wow, man." He chuckled. You don't mess around with committment. Straight to going steady, huh? You got your letterman jacket and class ring all ready, boss?" He loved the man and couldn't resist teasing him. Besides, he was ecstatic that these two were finally taking a shot at happiness together.

"Well, I know what I want. I have for a long time, but I didn't have the guts to do anything about it. I love her though, and I don't want to waste anymore time without her by my side."

"That's great, Grissom. Really." He told his friend seriously. "So, he smirked, "do I get to hear the details of your plan?"

"As long as you don't have loose lips." Grissom said, reaching behind them to grab his kit.

"Don't worry, Romeo. Your ship is safe with me."

TBC...The second chapter will be the date itself. I've been purposely vague in the plans because it's a surprise...though you may have figured some out by now. I hope you've all ejoyed it. Anything recognizable in sayings that I have neglected to cite aren't mine. There; blanket disclaimer.


	2. Chapter 2

**How To Get The Girl**

Thank you to everyone who took the time to read and leave a review. Thank you also to all the guest reviewers and followers I can't respond to. I hope all of you like this second part. It is fluffy, but I imagine both of them could be quite fluffy. There are references to lines from episodes that are not mine, but belong to CSI. I'm gonna be totally hinest. I don't remember the specific episodes they came from and I'm too lazy to go back and look for them. So, again, if you recognize it from an actual episode just know I'm not taking credit for those lines.

 **~~HTGTG~~**

"Okay." He paced across the living room floor, his cordless phone to his ear. "No, I have it on vibrate. I've checked it twice, so if you need me to come in just call that number twice and I'll know it's my signal. Really Catherine?" He replied sarcastically. "Yeah, I'm Batman. Yes, I know it does. Me with a burn phone, like I'm some secret agent. Okay, so yes, you're the more likely to be the secret agent. I'm sure it was something straight out of a Bond movie when you managed to get the other jamming chip into Sara's phone. Catherine, just remember to wait until 10:45pm to send the email" He was calling her at 10:50pm and he wanted the official switch of supervisor notification to happen before he got the ball rolling with her but not early enough tat she would be likely to get it before he could take her out. "I'm as ready as I'm going to be." he sighed. He was a jumble of nerves and excitement.

He checked his watch again and groaned; 10:40pm. This was taking forever and he didn't know how much more his antiperspirant would take. He sat down and rubbed his hand over his face. "I know it's been a long time since we talked." He looked up toward the ceiling, then closed his eyes and bowed his head. "And I should be doing this every day. I've gotten away from that and I'm sorry, but I could really use some help right now. I can't seem to calm my nerves and this is so important...the most important thing I've done in a really long time and I don't want to screw it up. Up until recently, I've been an idiot about Sara, as you know, and I'm worried about...nearly everything." he sighed. "Our friendship is stronger than ever. Thank you for that by the way. Things were so bad there for awhile, I wasn't sure if we would ever make it out of that. Nick's kidnapping really put things into perspective for me; for both of us, I think. Thank you for Nicky too. I know I said it then, but I can never thank you enough, Lord, for keeping Nick safe. I should have told her that night how much I love her...I almost did...so many times, but I was an idiot again. I'm afraid I may have lost my chance. I'm afraid I'm going to go through with this and she's going to give me this sad look when I finally tell her how I feel and then tell me that she's not in love with me anymore. She told me once that by the time I figure it out, it could be too late. What if all she feels for me now is friendship? I'm thakful for her friendship, but...I'm just scared. I know it isn't fair because she loved me through all my crap and now I'm afraid the shoe is going to be on the other foot so to speak, but, you know, it was never about not loving her..." His head was starting to hurt, his thoughts spinning in his mind like a whirling dervish. "Please, Lord, calm these nerves and help me to have peace. Help me to trust you and that whatever your will is for Sara and I, that it will be. Help me to get through these last few minutes without losing my n-"

His alarm sounded and he jumped. He looked at his watch and read, 10:50pm. With a crooked smile, he tilted his head up, "Thank you, Father." He also realized that in this moment, he felt completely calm again. "In Jesus name I pray, Amen." He smiled, confident once more and scooped up his phone, dialing the number he knew by heart.

She was flipping through the channels, thinking that she paid too much for cable given the small amount of time that she actually spent watching TV combined with the fact, in her opinion at least, that there was rarely anything worth watching on when she did watch TV, when her cell phone rang. She picked it up and smiled when she saw the name on her caller ID.

"Well, it's either really busy or really slow." She said by way of greeting.

"I need you." He said simply, remembering another time he had said those very words to her. He'd meant them in more ways than one then but hadn't had the guts to tell her. Tonight, he would. At least this time he wasn't pulling her away from any trainings.

"And are you so sure I'm not out and about on my night off that I can just drop what I'm doing and come help you?" she teased.

"Yes."

She scoffed at his sure response, though she wasn't cross in the least because she knew he was only teasing her back.

"That bagel shop closed at 10pm tonight." He deadpanned.

"It does not. I have a menu."

He laughed, not doubting that she did and loving that she called his bluff. "Can I come pick you up, Sara?"

"I suppose." She tried to sound like she was being put out but she knew she hadn't pulled it off. "What kind of scene do we have?"

"Giant decomp. Pool sized with multiple bodies."

"You wanna do this yourself?"

Called his bluff again. He laughed. "It's out on Sheep Range above the refuge. It's a nice night for a drive in the mountains."

"I'll go put on boots and grab my hoodie."

"I'll be there in fifteen." he told her, halfway to his door.

"Meet you outside." She hung up and headed for her bedroom to change.

Grissom's pulse was galloping as he dialed Archie's number to inform him that he was leaving to pick Sara up. Archie assured him that everything was ready. Several minutes later, Grissom saw her standing under the light outside her apartment building. He said one more quick prayer and parked the Denali by the curb.

Slightly surprised whe his door opened, Sara smiled when Grissom hurried around the Denali and opened her door for her.

"Such the gentleman."

"It helps to distract beautiful women from noticing when my knuckles are dragging." He joked, loving the melodic laughter that bubbled from her lips. Once she was in, he closed her door and made his way back to his side. The whole time, there was an excited voice in his head repeating, "You're doing this! You're really doing this!" He climbed back behind the wheel and turned his head to smile at her. "Ready?"

"Willing and able." She answered, amused by te silly grin plastered on his face. "What?"

"Nothing." He shrugged, starting the truck. "It's a gorgeous night and I get to spend it with my favorite person in the whole world."

Sara blushed, taken aback. "Your favorite person in the whole world?"

"Yeah, Sara. Of all the people on this earth who could be by my side right now, you are the one I most like being there."

"I..." Not quite knowing how to respond to such a blantantly honest and amazing compliment from him, she buckled up and cleared her throat. "Thank you, Griss. You're my favorite person too." Now she wore a silly grin.

They rode in comfortable silence along the 95 until he pulled off and started up the Sheep Range road.

"How far up are we going?" She asked.

"Pretty far up." He told her. He knew this deception was not out of malice but he silently asked again for forgiveness for the lies he was telling in this.

"Is it Brass tonight?"

"Yes."

"So, what do we know so far?"

"Well, a body, male, was found at a hunting cabin. It appears to be an animal attack."

Not terribly unreasonable. It is in the mountains. Plenty of predators about." She glanced out the window as they proceeded up the mountain's twisting and winding road. The moon was full and it cast a beautiful glow over everything in its path. "Why the formal investigation if they seem sure enough to hazard that it was an animal attack, why isn't Wildlife taking it for a spin first?"

"They would be if not for the, erm...oddities."

She turned in her seat and adjusted the belt so she could more fully face him. The word 'oddities' had her interest, but more so was the way in which he'd spoken the word. "What oddities?"

He kept the smile creeping up in check. He could practically see those investigative nerves twitching in curiosity and anticipation. He schooled his facial expression and set a bit of an ominous tone. "The attack appears to have happened inside the cabin."

She thought it odd initially; it wasn't typical behavior for a wild animal to venture into a building that was most likely lit and with an obvious human scent, let alone put itself in a place with no clear escape, but it wasn't that out of the realm of possibilty if the animal were hurt or sick it could have been disoriented or desperate. "Not typical behavior but there could be a reasonable explanantion. I think we should definitely swab and test for rabies."

"Absolutely. It's just...it's so strange, but the rangers said the animal doesn't appear to have wandered into the cabin..."

"Okay." She nervously chuckled at his tone. "Predatory animals stalk. It's unusual that it would go so far as to actually enter the cabin, but-"

"No, Sara, that's what I'm trying to tell you. According to the rangers, it never entered the cabin. There are no tracks of the animal entering the cabin. There are human tracks, two sets, going into the cabin. The victim is in the cabin. One set of prints coming out...the animal's."

"Where is the second human? Is there a second victim?"

"No. That's the odd thing. No sign of the second person at all. Just the two human going in and the partial set of the animal coming out."

They came upon the turn off at that moment and he chanced a look over at Sara while she pondered over that little morsel.

"They're positive there's only one exiting set?"

Oh she was definitely heading down the road he wanted her on now. He could see it, even in the quick glances he was able to steal.

He nodded. "They checked the perimeter twice waiting for Brass and the uni's to get there and then Brass checked it once himself."

"And what do you mean by a partial set?" She was picking up steam.

 _That's my girl_ , he thought. "Probably best not to speculate too much on that one until we get there to take a look ourselves. There must be a plausible explanantion. After all," he chuckled with a nervous edge, wolves don't walk around on two legs."

"Wolves?!" She squeeked. "They identified it as a wolf?!"

"A pretty big one too, from what Brass was saying." He wanted so badly to be able to see her face better right now.

"On two legs..." She said quietly.

 _Oh yes, she was deep on his path now._ The timing couldn't have been more perfect, as just in that moment, the truck sputtered and jerked a bit. Even tough he knew it was coming, the suddeness of it allowed him to have an authentic surprised reaction right along with Sara. Their eyes flew to the gauges and Sara looked to Grissom, who shrugged in answer as it stopped just as suddenly as it had started. "Must have just been a burp." He replied nonchalantly.

She glanced back out the window. They were well under the canopy now and the moon's glow, where once full and beautiful was now sporadic and more creepy than anything else. "Any idea how much farther?"

"Brass said 18 miles after the turnoff, so we've got about 11 to go." _Too far to walk out or in_. And like a well oiled machine, one mile later, the Denali sputtered, bucked pathetically and died.

The night was eerily quiet in the sudden silence. Neither of them uttered a word for the first several seconds and then, "Grissom...what just happened?"

"I don't know." he fibbed. He turned the key in the ignition and nothing happened. _Good man, Archie_. He tried once more for good show and when nothing happened again , he turned to Sara. "It's dead."

Pursed lips and a frown; she didn't need to say the words. She thought for a minute and then opened the glove box and pulled out his flashlight.

"What are you doing?" he asked her.

"Pop the hood. I'm going to take a look."

"Sara, it's not like we have tools or a parts store right around the corner." He protested. He wasn't worried she'd find anything because it was extremely well hidden, but he did prefer to keep her in the truck. What if they missed the soundeffects because she was playing SaraFixit under the hood. He was momentarily distracted by images of her in her CSI jumpsuit with little smudges of grease on her cheek. She always looked half adorable and half drop dead sexy when she looked like-

"We may not need anything." Her voice jolted him out of his thoughts and he may have even jumped a little. "We might just have jiggled something loose."

"Sara." He protested again, trying to come up with a way to keep her inside. "Just stay here and let me look." Okay, that was less than stellar.

"Why?" She asked with a narrowed gaze.

"Because," he stammered under that strong, independent I am woman hear me roar stare. "It's dark out there and ..." That look intensified so he shifted to charming and said, "I'll be scared in the truck all by myself."

"But you wanted me to stay in here while you go outside by yourself?" She challenged, trying hard not to let that charming smile get to her. It was.

"The headlights are still on so...You're even more beautiful when you're about to be angry with me." His eyes glittered.

She frowned, but there was no heat left in it. "Your knuckles are dragging, Griss." She deadpanned, opening the door and sliding out.

 _Good heavens he loved this woman_. He released the hood latch, opened his door and followed her out into the night. After a quick look under the hood and finding no explanantion for their sudden car trouble, the two got back into the vehicle.

"I'll call Brass and have him-" A howl penetrated the darkness around them. Sara stiffened visibly and her eyes darted to the woods. Even tough he'd heard it in the garage days ago, here in the darkness of the forest, high above the heavily populated world below, he had to admit that the sound was very creepy. "send a car." he finished, a little more quietly than he had started. He waited a second, "Sara."

"Hmm?" she hummed, still scanning the darkness.

"I've got no service."

"What?!" That had her attention. "Are you sure?"

He turned the open phone around so she could see for herself as he nodded. She'd barely gotten a good look before a second howl rose up out of the night, slightly louder as if getting closer. This time he joined her in peering out the window. They hadn't discussed bringing it closer, but as long as Archie didn't get too loud and ruin the authenticity, he'd not worry about the free license the younger man had apparently taken. "Check yours." he suggested.

Without taking her eyes from the window, Sara dug her cell phone out of her pocket. Only after she'd flipped it open did she look away and down at the communication device in her hand. Even if he hadn't alrady known that she would ave no service either, her face would have given it away. Her face drained slightly of it's color and her eyes got just a little panicked. She proceeded to hold her phone up in the air and move it about the cab. "I don't believe this!" She flipped her phone closed and looked at him. "Try to get him on your radio."

He reached up to where he usually kept his radio clipped and froze.

"Grissom? What?!"

He closed his eyes. "I took it out earlier tonight because I needed to replace the battery. Then this call came in and...it's on my desk."

"You're kidding me right now...right?"

"Afraid not." He really had taken it out to replace the battery...so, that was yesterday and he had done it on purpose, but he had actually forgotten it on his desk. Close enough. He smiled wanely at her and she slumped back in her seat.

"So we have no communication whatsoever." She sighed.

"When Brass realizes we should have been there by now, he'll call dispatch and when they're not able to communicate with us, they'll give him our GPS location and he'll come get us. We simply have to wait."

Another howl and this time Sara moved away from her door, thinking about it, she reached out and slapped the lock on. "Let's talk about something."

"Okay." He knew she wanted a distraction, but he could tell her brain was working on scary movie scenario overtime so he decided to hammer it home. "We can run through what we know about the attack so-"

"Something not attack related please." She nearly snapped.

"Sara." He chuckled.

"There is clearly a wolf out there, Grissom! Close enough to be heard...we're trapped in here like sitting ducks while a...a something that walks on two legs but leaves a wolf print and tore a man apart roams around on a night with a FULL moon!" She pointed up to the sky where a sliver of the moon could still be seen. "I don't care how illogical it is, Grissom! This is every werewolf movie ever made and it doesn't ever end well for the couple in the SUV in the middle of the woods!"

Okaaay, that was a little more reaction than he had anticipated. Maybe it was time to start bringing this to a close. She shivered rather violently then. He decided to grab the blanket he had in the very back of the truck for her and then reveal himself to her. "Hang on." he told her, opening his door and jumping out. He closed it behind him to keep the cold air out and opened the door to the back seat so he could lean over the backseat to reach the blanket. He heard the howl as he was closing the front door and by the time he was opening the back door, Sara had moved, or more specifically vaulted, into the back seat. As soon as the back door was open, he found himself pulled off his feet, half laying on the back seat as Sara yanked on his pant leg and tried to close the door all at the same time. "Ow! Sara, stop!" he tried to right himself, but she was in the way. "Honey, you have to give me some room." She did, but as she moved to the far side of the seat, she kept her hold on him and pulled him into the truck in a very impressive show of strength for a woman her size. He landed with his lower half on the seat and his upper body on the floor of the Denali at Sara's feet. Suddenly, her feet disappeared, narrowly missing his face, and then he felt her body weight drop down on him. She yanked his feet up and a split second later the door slammed shut. His left foot rested on the window and his right dangled at a strange angle over the backrest, and Sara seemed to be perched half on his butt and half on the backs of his thighs. "Uh, Sara...could you?"

"Oh! Sorry! Sorry!" She moved, more cautiously this time and made herself small until he managed to move his bulk upright in the confined space. He barely had time to settle before she wacked him in the chest and yelled, "What were you doing?! There's a wild... _something_ out there tearing people apart!"

"Getting-"

"What did you need that was so important that you were going to leave me?!"

He calmly reached over the backrest and pulled the blanket out. He unfolded it and wrapped it around her, pulling her against his chest and then wrapping his arms around her. "You looked cold. I would never leave you, Sara." He spoke soothingly into her hair, and sighed when he felt her relax against him. "Never."

"I'm acting like a colossal baby." She whispered.

"You're at an unfair advantage." He confessed, rubbing his hand up and down her back through the blanket.

"How so?" She asked. There were quite a few things she thought he might pick, but the one he gave was not one she had anticipated as an option.

"Because I set this all up."

She pushed off of him and stared at his face through the darkness. "You what?" She stammered, confused.

"I set this whole thing up, Sara. There is no scene. There's no victim torn apart by an implied werewolf. The Denali is fine, as are our cell phones." He went on. "Signal jam for the cell phones and some fancy equipment made the Denali 'die'. When I take the chips out of our phones, we'll be restored to full service. And as soon as I call my guy, he'll shut the device off and the Denali will start up without a hiccup. This was all an eleborate ruse, Sara."

"But...why?"

"Do you remember that conversation you and the guys were having during lunch last week in the break room?" He could see nothing was clicking for her so he eleborated. "You were giving Nick some dating tips?"

"Okay, yeah, I remember, but what does that have to do with..." her voice slowly trailed off as his head ducked and all the pieces fell into place. _I set all this up_. His words echoed back to her from moments before. _That shy, backwards, adorable man! He had set up the date she'd more or less mapped out for Nicky!_ She'd never felt more touched, treasured or special in her life. He'd gone to all this trouble to set up a date with her...a date...with her?! Oh. My. Gosh! _Grissom just took me on a first date?! Grissom just took me on a first date!_

Tears sprang to her eyes and there was just enough light in the truck for him to see them. "Honey, I'm so sorry." He rushed, his stomach clenching at the obvious signs of her distress. "I shouldn't have...I didn't mean to..." he stumbled all over himself to apologize for his deception and anything else he'd done to bring her to tears. And then before he could find adequate words, he found himself with an armful of Sara.

"You want to date me!" She exclaimed, not caring a bit how juvenile she may have sounded in that moment. The man she'd loved for as long as she'd known him, the man she had resigned herself to never being more than friends with had gone to an awful lot of trouble to take her on a first date she would never forget.

He was stunned briefly and then when what she had said and her evident happiness sank in, he was elated. "Oh, honey, you have no idea." He laughed, pushing his fingers up into her soft tresses and pulling her head back so he could look into her eyes. "I'm backwards, I take forever to get where I need to be, I miss subtleties that other men half my age pick up on in the blink of an eye. I'm going to screw up, Sara and you're going to have to tell me how because I won't get it on my own...there may be times," he chuckled, "when you may have to _tell me_ that I screwed up because I'll miss that too. I should have been here long ago, honey. You deserved that and so much more, but if you'll still have me, I promise I will do my best to deserve every chance you've ever given me and no one on this earth will ever love you as much as I do, Sara. No one."

"You..." tears were streaming down her face now and she reached up to wipe them away. "You want to date me _and_ you love me?" She whispered.

He nodded. "Yes. To both. Very, very much. And I'm so sorry that I lied to you to get you out here but I just wanted to-"

She put her finger over his lips. "This was the most amazing thing any man has ever done to get my attention and it is hands down the best first date in the history of first dates, but I'm telling you this right now, Gilbert Grissom; you could have shown up at my front door with a blowpop and a cheese sandwich sans cheese and as long as you were there to tell me what you just did, I would have loved it anyway...because it was you and because," she ran her hand over his cheek and looked in his eyes like she was seeing them for the first time and the thousandth all at the same time, "I love you too."

"Yeah?" he choked out, his voice feeling like it was caught behind a boulder in his throat.

"Yep."

The air seemed to still and maybe time really did stop, as the two lovebirds stared into each others eyes, their faces getting closer and closer as that first kiss moment beckoned them in. A fraction of an inch apart, as they shared one breath, a howl so close split the air that they jumped apart and the only reason Sara didn't find herself on her butt on the floor wedged between the back seat and the front seat was because Grissom had had the quick sense to grab her. She giggled from her perch on his knees where she'd landed when he'd yanked her back and he laughed softly with her.

"I think it's time to give Archie a call and let him know that his job is done." He dug his burn phone out of his pocket and it was then that he noticed Sara's smirk and her crossed arms. "What?"

"Archie, huh?'

Oh. Oops. "Well, a man needs help now and then." He grinned boyishly, dialing Archie.

"Mmmhmm. Anyone else on that list?" She questioned with humor.

"You mean besides Catherine, Warrick, and the Mayor?"

"The ...the Mayor?!" she yelped.

"Honey, I had to do things right or I would have put our careers and our jobs in jeopardy. Linda was rooting for us and I called in the favor she offered a year or so-hey, Archie!" He halted his explanantion and grinned at the flabbergasted look on Sara's face. "Everything was perfect. Yeah, you can turn the jammers off and give me use of the Denali back. No, you did an awesome job with the soundeffects, I just wasn't expecting so many and that last one almost sounded like we were going to see steam on one of the windows." His face paled and his eyes grew wide a second before they darted to the windows. "Archie, uh...get the truck ready to run now please." He tapped Sara's leg rapidly and motioned for her to get in the front seat.

She was confused as to his reaction but stood in the cramped space as best she could and leaned toward the door closest to her. She was just about to open it to get out when she was yanked, unceremoniously, back, turned around and nearly shoved between the seats. "Grissom, what the-"

"Buckle in." He told her as he crammed himself back behind the wheel. He banged his knee off the steering wheel but didn't slow down. "Archie?!" Apparently hearing what he wanted, he cranked the key over and the Denali roared to life. Grissom slapped his phone shut and tossed it onto Sara's lap. She watched him in a mild state of shock, as he slammed the truck into gear, did the quickest three point turn in the history of three point turns and put the pedal to the metal back down the country road.

"Grissom, what is going on?!" Sara had one hand braced on the dash and the other above her head on the ceiling as they bounced unceremoniously over the ruts.

His eyes stayed glued to the road in front of them, but he offered her a brief and chilling answer in reply to her question. "Archie only played one howl; the first howl."

Her face paled, as his had done and she felt the blood in her veins run cold. "So those other howls..."

"Were not Archie." he finished, shivering.

Neither of them believed in the supernatural, and somewhere in the back of their minds, they knew what they'd heard was only a wolf in the right place at the wrong time, but Grissom had done too good of a job setting the mood for that first date and two grown adults, that dark but briefly romantic night, had never been so happy to see blacktop and the bright lights of Vegas in their lives. One thing was for sure though. This was a first date they would never forget...but then neither planned on having any more _first_ dates ever again.

 **THE END**

 _I hope everyone enjoyed this fun little jaunt. Yes, I did go a little OOC with Grissom and Sara but in order to keep the fluff and make the date work and be within my vision, it had to be so. I hope it was too OOC or anyone. If you're so inclined, I would really appreciate if you'd take a minute to leave your thoughts. Thanks again for coming on this ride with me. God bless you and yours. P.S. I am toying with a sequel to this one, so by all means let me know your thoughts on that too._


End file.
